Essential Question

Words to look for

Background Information

The Buddhist religion is a very important part of Tibetan life. A monk is a person who has committed to living a life of faith and living in a monastery.

The monasteries are not only the home for monks, but also are a central part of the community because they contain colleges for higher learning and protect ancient artifacts and texts.

Lhasa was the capital of independent Tibet and several large monasteries were located there. When the Chinese invaded Tibet in the 1950s they wanted to suppress Tibetan culture and force the people living there to accept Chinese culture. In 1959, two of the largest and most important monasteries in Lhasa were destroyed by the Chinese. Many monks were publicly executed, forced into slave labor, or deported.

The monks who survived the destruction of Gyuto Monastery opened a new monastery in India. Currently there are over 500 monks there who continue to study and practice Tibetan Buddhism.

Transcription

Narrator: Thupten Dadak (TD)

Interviewers: Tsewang Sangmo Lama (TL) and Charles Lenz (CL)

TL: Can you provide a history of the monastic institution that you were in?

TD: The monastery is called the Gyuto Monastery, which is a very well-known monastery. Especially, they are specialized for rituals and chanting. Especially, they do provide service for His Holiness, as well as Tibetan government. It is located in Central Tibet in Lhasa.

Then, since occupation by Chinese, only seventy-five monks who were able to come out from Tibet, 1959, then they rebuilt the monastery in India. Before the Chinese occupation, the monastery has almost 900 monks. Only seventy-five monks are survived and able to escape and rebuild a monastery in India. So I got opportunity to go to that monastery and study.

TL: What is a typical day like in a monk’s life?

TD: It’s a very busy life, because, at the young age, you have to memorize all the Buddhist text, many, many pages. After they are qualified to giving a test, exam, then they able to enter the monastery. Then you have to perform a lot of rituals, and you have further studies.

TL: What was your favorite part of being a monk?

TD: Favorite part of a monk is simplicity.

TL: What do you miss about being a monk?

TD: Simple life.

TL: What else did you do besides—?

TD: While I was in the monastery, I did service for assistant of all the monastery in charge. At the time, I would come out of school and we are few of them can read or write English as well also speaking Hindi. So we are very much helping with all the monks, how to rebuild the monastery in India.